


Continuing Mission

by qwanderer



Series: Color (Green) and Pattern (Measured) [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Insecure Clint, M/M, Star Trek - Freeform, Star Wars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:24:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qwanderer/pseuds/qwanderer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce has <em>opinions</em> about the Star Wars movies, apparently.</p><p>Clint's opinions on Star Wars are pretty much limited to an enthusiasm for classic action in general, and a deep appreciation for the quote, "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Continuing Mission

Bruce has _opinions_ about the Star Wars movies, apparently. 

Ones that he's discussed with Tony and Jarvis at length. Ones that have Bruce playfully shouting across the room at Tony about story structure and unnecessary technobabble. 

Clint's opinions on Star Wars are pretty much limited to an enthusiasm for classic action in general, and a deep appreciation for the quote, "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." 

Clint never took the time to watch the prequels when they came out, and this apparently has launched a full-scale war on the subject of _how,_ exactly, they ought to be watched. 

"I'm just not seeing the benefit in anything outside of an in-universe chronological order," Tony is saying. "And really, skipping 1? Don't get me wrong, I'm totally onboard with your issues with certain parts of the prequels. But that's what we've got Jarvis for." Tony waves his hands emphatically in the vague direction of the ceiling. "We've got custom edits; cut some of the more nonsensical rambling about biochem, which, as a completely impossible superpowered being yourself, I'm surprised you're not more tolerant of, by the way. And of course we've got cuts completely free of Mr. Ears Hang Low; no one needs to see him." 

Bruce shakes his head, grinning ruefully. "So you're pretty much happy with ripping the movies apart, shredding them and putting the fragments back together the way you want them? It's not going to be the story the creators intended. And to be honest? I think it's kind of disrespectful. That shouldn't be anyone's first experience of the story." 

"Right, right, and your little shell game shuffling is how it's intended to be watched? Doctor Banner, I was pretty sure you were capable of counting to six." 

Bruce laughs heartily and throws more popcorn at Tony's head. "That is _so_ not equivalent, Tony. They're six separate movies; each one has its own directorial intentions that I don't want to violate. I'm just rearranging them to bring out the story that's already _there._ " 

"Pretty sure your plan cuts out more material than mine," Tony says. "Stuff I'm guessing Lucas wanted people to see, for reasons that completely escape me." 

"But it's as a unit," Bruce says in return. "Each movie is its own story. And besides, I'm not saying that we shouldn't watch Episode I. I'm just saying it works better as a supplement, after you've experienced the main story." 

"Okay, say I give you that. What was your nonsensical little sequence again?" 

"Four, five, two, three, six," Bruce answers without hesitation. 

"What...?" Tony looks at him with eyebrows scrunched in disbelief. "What does that even.... Why?" 

"Because the two trilogies might parallel each other nicely in some ways, but the most important thing to get is the similar themes between three and six," Bruce says forcefully. "It's more effective if you watch those two back-to-back." 

Tony considers this, scrunching his face and staring off into the middle distance for three seconds. "All right," he says. "I'm curious. Let's do it your way." 

And so they watch all five movies in Bruce's suggested sequence, Tony spending more attention to his tablet than the screen, Steve watching with interest, Natasha wandering in and out, Bruce curled tightly around Clint. Clint enjoys the familiarity of four and five, but he can't help his thoughts drifting back to that conversation, Bruce laughing aloud as he and Tony talk geek. But then they break for dinner, and Bruce makes soft tacos with that perfect homemade salsa that's Clint's favorite, and kisses it away from the corner of Clint's mouth when he drips some, and then Episode Two comes on and Clint forgets everything but the hum of swinging lightsabers and the feel of Bruce's arms around him. 

* * *

When Clint's on the range, it comes back to him. Clint lives his life a certain way. He gets a target. He draws. He aims. He shoots. He hits or he misses. He gets what he went after or he craps everything up spectacularly. 

The greatest lesson he's ever learned is to cut his losses and not look back. 

Clint's never been particularly great at life-in-general. Missions, he can do. So he thinks of everything in terms of missions, in terms of the objective. Before, when he wasn't on mission for SHIELD (which he was most of the time - his skill set was in high demand) he'd go out looking for trouble, for some battle to fight, a clear-cut objective that could be as simple as survival. 

Clint likes being on mission, knowing the expectations. He doesn't usually have a problem going off mission. But he's gotten kind of attached to this one. 

Clint could never regret this, not for a second. When they met, Bruce had been so tense, so afraid, so alone. Now he's happy. That had been the mission. Now Clint's sitting here asking himself if he's really needed, now that the objective has been met. 

* * *

Clint thumbs the remote to turn off the TV as Bruce comes in, tired and rumpled and gorgeous. 

"Sorry I'm back so late," Bruce says, slumping onto the couch and putting his head in Clint's lap. Clint curls his fingers into it automatically, playing with the short strands. 

"World-changing experiments at stake, I'm sure," Clint says, chuckling. 

"A bit," Bruce agreed. "Still, I should have kept better track of time." 

"Hey, no big. I keep busy. And I know you have fun playing mad scientist with Tony. Good to see you happy." 

"I want to spend time with you, too." 

"But you gotta answer the siren song of science," Clint says with a smirk. "Admit it. You've got a soft spot for Stark a mile wide." 

"Yes, I like him. I would never have moved in if I didn't. The work we're doing, it's...incredible. Things I never even imagined." 

Clint's hand stills in Bruce's hair. 

"What?" Bruce asks, noticing the change in Clint's posture, although it's subtle. 

Clint sighs, shifting so he can look Bruce in the eyes. "You know I just want you to be happy, right?" he tells Bruce. 

"Yeah, I know," Bruce breathes back solemnly, looking with concerned bemusement into Clint's eyes. "And I am. Very happy." 

"You're happiest when you're with Tony," the archer says, quickly, like he might lose his nerve. 

Bruce takes a moment to process that, then his eyes widen. "No," he says firmly. "You're wrong. Clint, you've walked me through so many tough times, maybe it seems that way to you. But right now I'm happier than I've ever been, and it's all you. I'm sorry if I don't show that more." 

"No, hey, I know I'm important," Clint murmurs. "But so's Tony." 

Bruce sits up fully now, looking Clint in the eyes. "Let me tell you something. Hulk thinks of Tony the way he thinks of me. That annoying guy who's always thinking too much. And when we're together we think even more. And that's fun, but it's not what I need. It's not you." 

"Oh yeah?" Clint says. "What is it you need?" 

"You," says Bruce, and he absolutely envelops Clint in his arms. "You. Everything about you." 

"You talk a mile a minute with Stark and that's all you can say?" Clint teases. 

"You leave me speechless," Bruce says. "What you are to me is unquantifiable. Inexplicable. Mysterious. At right angles to the things I know how to put into words. Can you explain to someone what it feels like to hold the bow in your hands? What it means, how it centers you? This is like that, only more. Clint, I love you. Without you next to me, my life wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be right. Stay with me, Clint. Stay with me forever." 

Clint watches Bruce's eyes shine, hears the tremble in his voice, and he kicks himself for doing that. He puts a hand on Bruce's neck, drawing their foreheads together, seeking that calm, reassuring state that it brings. "Okay," he says. "Okay. I'm sorry. 'M here as long as you need me." 

They breathe together for a moment, eyes closed, and then Bruce looks at Clint. 

"Are you only here because I need you?" 

"What?" 

"Is that all? Do you not still love me?" Bruce's voice is small, way too small for him, for what he is. 

Clint's eyes go wide, and he takes Bruce's face in his hands. "Bruce, you...." He wishes he were half as good with words as the man in front of him. "You're incredible. You're so far out of my league it's crazy. You cook for me, and it's perfect, and... _yes_ I still love you! I always will." 

Bruce looks at him with a silent question. 

"I just... I'm no good at being home, you know? I want it, but I just don't know how. I... well, it's all missions. That's how my brain works. I get the mission done, I move on to the next." 

Bruce levels a look at Clint. 

"What?" Clint asks. 

"If you're not familiar with the phrase 'continuing mission'," Bruce tells him, "then there's a lot of TV we're going to need to watch." He smiles that knowing smile he has. 

"That so?" 

"Yeah," Bruce continues. "Just the two of us, because I've seen Tony with Star Trek, he can't help making smartass comments about the tech every thirty seconds. It's horrendous." 

Clint grins. "Sounds like a mission I can live with," he says, leaning back into the couch, and feeling weirdly content about where his life is going, even if it is, in fact, staying right here. 

**Author's Note:**

> Bruce prefers Star Wars in what's known as Machete Order, first postulated [here](http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/#toc-introducing-machete-order).


End file.
